On the occasion of ETRFI's 50th Anniversary, this year's lecture series is named​"The Nathan Peter Levinson Memorial Lecture Series."

Landesrabbiner Professor Dr. Nathan Peter Levinson was born in Berlin in 1921. He grew up in the religious-liberal tradition of German Jewry and, after graduating high school in 1940, began training for the rabbinate at the Hochschule fuer die Wissenschaft des Judentums (Liberal rabbinic seminary in Berlin) under Rabbi Professor Leo Baeck. In March 1941, he immigrated to the United States with his parents, going through Russia and Japan, concluded his studies at Hebrew Union College (the Reform rabbinical seminary) in Cincinnati, and accepted a position as rabbi in Alabama in 1948.

Founded in 1966, ETRFI Celebrates its50th Anniversary A greeting from Gail Marks, USA:"Congratulations on 50 years of service. Great work and so needed. Also hard work and consistency. You all should be proud and continue on. May God bless all of your efforts."